Hi everyone time for another TR . This time it was a case of ''London Calling'' as BA are saying these days

I wanted to see the new Olympic Stadium and Village since its not long now til the London 2012 games. I also wanted to do some shopping. So it was my day off work and I decided to book my flights.

I chose to try the new British Airways route knowing that it could be 50/50 what metal would turn up at the gate on the day . It could be BA it could be BD . The only sure thing would be the British Airways flight number and the dual branding. When I booked the flight it showed as a Club Europe service operated by British Airways but a few days before departure this changed to ''Business'' and Operated by British Midland International.

The time came to check in online via my iPhone App :

Oh dear BA having some IT issues !

So in the end no online check in was possible so I would have to go to the check in desk the next morning.

Oh dear DAA have cut corners again and not taken care of the finer details of rain drainage. Come on guys get your act together its not as if you were not expecting the rain in Ireland !

I approached the check in area only to see this at the SSKs

So I joined the Business Class line where there already seemed to be some problems.
The sole check in agent for the three BA/BD desks was unable to check anyone in as they couldnt get the flight up in their systems . We ended up waiting for 10 mintues while another supervisor tried to sort the issue out. British Airways are handled by Servisair at Dublin .

Eventually the lady in front of me was checked in and I approached the counter. I was quickly checked in and given my boarding pass and invited to use the BMI lounge. I was also presented with this letter stating that the Dublin flights were operated by British Midland International and thus no Club Europe service it was to be BMI onboard crew and catering .

So after that I proceeded to security and then decided to make my way to the Etihad First Class lounge. I have recently obtained Air Berlin Gold and Etihad has a partnership agreement with them . This extends to lounge access but I was not sure what the rules were.

I was greeted by a lovely lounge agent and welcomed into the lounge and invited to have some breakfast.

I sat down with a danish whirl and muffin and was brought a lovely Cappuchino by one of the three staff members attending to the ''Guests''.

My first impressions of the lounge were that it was very classy and such a nice thing to have in DUB . Never thought Id see lounges of this quality here.

After I had finished that one of the staff came to me and asked me what I would like from the hot menu. I really wasnt expecting that this being my first time in a EY lounge. I was offered fresh waffles/eggs benedict or the Full Irish breakfast. I decided to take the Irish breakfast as I might as well make the most of it .

Shortly after I was brought this lovely looking plate and I have to say I was very impressed .

Air Transat A310 . Something rare at airports these days

Having enjoyed a nice meal and spotting in the EY lounge it was time to make a move taking some photos before leaving.

Maybe next time

I left the lounge thanking the staff for their hospitality and made my way to the BMI lounge.

New signs :

I was welcomed by a familiar lady and presented my Air Berlin Gold card. She took a look at it puzzled for a while but then handed it back to me and invited me to relax. I guess they are still getting used to these Oneworld cards.

No BA Highlife magazines but Novak will most certainly do

Who would have thought BA flight number operated by BMI with a Air Berlin Oneworld Gold card. Life is strange sometimes.

The news on the Island that morning was the Queens meeting with former IRA member Martin McGuinness.

Soon it was time to head to the gate . The flight was delayed coming in from LHR so there would be a delay in boarding .

My flight arriving . Full BMI livery and Star Alliance logo still on it .

After a while boarding was starting to commence. This whole process was like organised chaos. The gate agents were confused about who should board first and what Oneworld status cards looked like.

Anyway in the end they boarded Families and then asked Business Class and Status to board. We made it down to the entrance of the aircraft before being held there for a further five minutes due to the aircraft not being ready.

We were then advised we could board and I was greeted by two friendly crew.

I noticed right away a difference in the cabin . Middle row now had a table and there was a clear divider between Business class and Economy . Something that was not on the DUB-LHR before.

Soon everyone had boarded and the doors closed. The FA came on and did his talk. ''Welcome aboard this British Airways flight to London Heathrow Terminal 1 operated by British Midland International. ''

''We would like to extend a warm welcome to our Executive Club members and members of Oneworld''

I have to say it did sound a bit weird after a decade flying BMI no mention of Star Alliance. The crews name badges had been re branded too and it looked like the sticker had been pulled off and another sticker put on but it had air bubbles on it and looked a bit cheap.

The safety demo was done manually and no mention of British Airways was to be made for the remainder of the trip . Everything was referred to as BMI or British Midland International.

After take off the crew were released and I was eager to see what would be offered. Simon was the chief FA on todays flight and I have to say he shined. He came to everyone on an individual basis and addressed us by name. We were offered a choice of three dishes and I decided to go for the meat option.

Shortly after this very nice looking meal tray arrived and I was quite surprised. I was offered a choice of numerous drinks but no Champagne was loaded sadly but I went for a nice white wine instead.

Lemon drizzle cake for afters . The last time I had this it was dry and not nice but this was lovely I have to say.
The meal tray reminded me of something I got on the LHR-BSL service and never thought I would see it on a DUB-LHR.

I was then offered a coffee.

I had a quick chat with Simon and I asked him how he was coping with all the changes. I guess I knew more than most about the process and he asked me if I was BA staff . I laughed and said no and that I had been flying BMI as a DC Gold member for a decade and been following the take over closely. We had a chat about the changes and timeline of the migration before the seatbelt sign came on and he excused himself.

Time to land into LHR :

We pulled up on stand and then it was time to disembark . I thanked Simon for a lovely flight and said to him that I wished him all the best for the future to which he thanked me and said I was very kind.

I was welcomed aboard by two friendly FAs and again by another FA half way down the cabin .

Soon everyone had boarded and we left our stand and headed to the runway for take off.

A380 line up :

Soon after take off the crew commenced their BOB service and I opted for just some water :

Cheers

Soon after it was time to land into DUB . Note the lighter evenings I love this time of year it was around 10:30pm.

A rather wet Dublin .

So I disembarked the aircraft and made my way to the arrivals.

The lines for passport control were crazy and was backed up to the entrance to the hall. It took 15 minutes to clear via snaking lines which was totally unacceptable for passengers arriving from the CTA . Something they need to sort out at Dublin Airport

An empty T2 .

So I waited for my bus and made my way home.

My London 2012 purchases :

So thats the end of my report. I hope you all enjoyed . No matter how many times I go to London I always enjoy it and there is always something to see and do .

British Airways / BMI are still going through the transition process and some bugs are to be expected. Check in and online check in need smoothed out . Boarding process also needs to be streamlined and less chaotic.

Service onboard was 10/10 with lovely BMI crew . Lets hope they find a happy career path in their new BA positions. They certainly have the right attitude and professionalism.

The Etihad lounge in DUB was lovely and I look forward to my next visit already

Im very impressed with the Olympic site and Im sure those of you going to the games will have a great time. If you need any info just give me a shout.

Aer Lingus was what I expected . Nice lounge at LHR with pleasant crew and comfortable flight.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing your comments as usual.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3):I had a quick chat with Simon and I asked him how he was coping with all the changes. I guess I knew more than most about the process and he asked me if I was BA staff .

LOL I am pretty sure I was talking to the same Simon the day previously as he commenced his DUB nightstop sectors. Indeed he seems enthusiastic to be passing over to Eurofleet when his number is called and we had a great chat about what he can expect. A nice bit of control over his life following many years of uncertainty at BMI.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 8):The lines for passport control were crazy and was backed up to the entrance to the hall. It took 15 minutes to clear via snaking lines which was totally unacceptable for passengers arriving from the CTA . Something they need to sort out at Dublin Airport

Iv experienced this 3 times in the last month into DUB and I am beginning to think there is something wrong. I have even experienced it in T1 B gates!

My views are my own and do not reflect any other person or organisation.

Very impressive EY lounge Philip, great to see your lovely photos of it. I can't wait to fly on BA metal once they get going at DUB. Glad you enjoyed your trip to Stratford, it will be a great few weeks of activity - I have tickets and can't wait!

I had the same problems when i tried to use the iPhone app earlier in the year too...

Quoting OA260 (Reply 1):I was also presented with this letter stating that the Dublin flights were operated by British Midland International and thus no Club Europe service it was to be BMI onboard crew and catering .

Was there really much difference? I was under the impression that most, if not all European business classes were pretty much the same.

But I have to say, It is nice to see a real meal served in business class again on this DUB to LHR flight.

Hey there thanks for the reply. Yes it was very nice just a shame its the last weeks of this BMI style service but on the flip side Im looking forward to the full CE service.

Quoting Carfield (Reply 11):I was in the Westfield Mall last month and the London Olympics Shop was wonderful. It looks like London is ready for the Olympics!

Yes its really come together as a few years ago I was there and it was still a building site. They really have done wonders with it .

Quoting Phen (Reply 12):Very impressive EY lounge Philip, great to see your lovely photos of it. I can't wait to fly on BA metal once they get going at DUB. Glad you enjoyed your trip to Stratford, it will be a great few weeks of activity - I have tickets and can't wait!

Hi yes it is a lovely lounge. Id love to spend more time in there maybe I will go to AUH Enjoy the games and report back maybe do a TR ?

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 14):interesting report with many good pictures. I took my (most likely) last bmi flight last week (LHR-EDI on G-DBCJ) - totally unimpressive, but it was still nice. I like the seats better than BA's.

Yes the Domestic BMI style was nothing to write home about . I agree the seats though were very nice and much nicer than BA blue but I guess you cant have everything .

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 14):It's also interesting to see the two A320s still showing full Star Alliance colors.

Yes I thought they had to remove them right away as per Star Alliance agreements on branding but I guess not. Maybe its not so fast for AC due to practicalities.

Hi Philip
Nice little trip report. London really is perfect for a cheap daytrip to just get away for a day. Nice to see Holborn mentioned, the hotel I have stayed in many times is located there. Regarding BA & BD aircraft on the DUB route, I read from a reliable source on twitter that the 0915 arrival in to DUB is due to be a BA branded aircraft from now on, it definetly was yesterday morning anyway.

No, I don't think that looks good either! But I would probably buy it anyway because it was a plane model!

Was the Aer Lingus lounge easy to find? I tried to look for it on my spotting trip to Heathrow and I couldn't find it! I am probably going blind! Also was there many good views of the runway from the lounge, good enough to do a whole day of spotting at Heathrow?

Thanks very much and good report!

Dublinspotter

Dublinspotter

25 OA260
: Hi there many thanks Yeah the Concorde model was just a bit too OTT in terms of livery lol for me . The EI GC lounge is right at the end and certainl